Definition:
Pharming is a practice in which malicious code is installed on a personal computer or server, misdirecting users to fraudulent Web sites without their knowledge or consent. It is an attack by the hacker, aiming to redirect a website's traffic to another, bogus website
Phishing:
In phishing, the perpetrator sends out legitimate-looking e-mails, appearing to come from some of the Web's most popular sites, in an effort to obtain personal and financial information from individual recipients. This is done by luring the individuals to visit the websites by clicking on the links in the e-mail, which is more often due to the user's consent and interest due to the attraction, unlike in Pharming.
Pharming:
In pharming, individuals are not enticed like in Phishing. They are taken to these bogus Web sites without any notice. Larger numbers of computer users can be victimized in this case because it is not necessary to target individuals one by one and no conscious action is required on the part of the victim. In one form of pharming attack, code sent in an e-mail modifies local Host Files on a personal computer. The host files convert URLs into the number strings that the computer uses to access Web sites. A computer with a compromised host file will go to the fake Web site even if a user types in the correct Internet address or clicks on an affected bookmark entry. Some spyware removal programs can correct the corruption, but it frequently recurs unless the user changes browsing habits.
DNS Poisoning:
A particularly ominous pharming tactic is known as Domain Name System poisoning, in which the domain name system table in a server is modified so that someone who thinks they are accessing legitimate Web sites is actually directed toward fraudulent ones. In this method of pharming, individual personal computer host files need not be corrupted. Instead, the problem occurs in the DNS server, which handles thousands or millions of Internet users' requests for URLs. Victims end up at the bogus site without any visible indicator of a discrepancy. Spyware removal programs cannot deal with this type of pharming because nothing need be technically wrong with the end users' computers.
Consequences:
Once personal information such as a credit card number, bank account number, or password has been entered at a fraudulent Web site, criminals have the information and Identity Theft can be the end result.
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